Re: NHL will end lockout

rramsdell wrote:When ever hockey does come back, and they took away the fighting. Damage control big time lol.

It is such a physical and high paced game, I don't think they could truly take fighting out. Instead of a few small fights here and there, there would be singular epic fights that would be more harmful.

To top it off; I think cheap shots would increase, if there was no accountability for it. Vancouver and Montreal would LOVE that .

At the same time, the whole enforcer element should be done away with. The way teams and the league are geared now, they may not even need to instate any more rules for it. The enforcer has become a thing of the past, in a sense. Teams need a full bench of players that can shoot, passs, or at least defend. It is not to say that some teams do not have any enforcers anymore.

You could even say it is a matter of the enforcers having more Hockey skills in today's game. I love Shawn Thornton, but he is definitely someone I would hate if he was on another team. I hate Hartnell, but I understand he is a good player, and tough as well. SOme teams have them, and others don't.

Look at the differences between my two favorite teams. The Red Wings are finesse, with high skill level. The Bruins grind games out and beat their opponents, while flashing some skills and only a little finesse. I got to go to a Red Wings / Bruins game at the Garden two years ago. Of course I wore my Wings Jersey, but I was just as happy that the Bruins won. In the game, the Bruins kept trying to get the Wings to fight. They just wouldn't. Eventually the B's simmered down and actually won scoring goals (Conklin was in net UNH!).

I got bleep for my jersey, but I didn't care. I love the game. I will watch a Hockey game between the Oilers and the Sharks. It doesn't matter if my teams are on, I just love the game. Avalanche blow, BT Dubbs. I root for anyone playing against the Lanche.

So in conclusion, I don't think they can take the fighting out go Hockey, but it would not matter if they did. The game is the best game, period.

Some of the most highly conditioned athletes, playing on a deteriorating surface. Wearing skates, moving at high speeds, crashing into each other and boards, playing with sticks, flinging a piece of frozen vulcanized (important) rubber around, often diving in front of it, all while trying to conect passes and make shots.

The greatest game on Earth! Sorry Soccer, you just don't compare. If the World had more Ice, I believe Hockey would be number one.

So now the players and the owners are going to drive another stake in the sport, because of contract length restrictions and revenue sharing. All of which just means higher ticket prices for the fans. Thank you players and owners. Way to go!

Re: NHL will end lockout

Good points there Moble....what about the refs. You know, they will make some awful if hockey does resume this year. It might actually be worse than the replacement refs we had this year for football. I do like the Red Wings by the way. But, die hard Bruins fan all my life. Bruins won't back down from nobody. Sometimes yes, they do go looking for the fight and sometimes they don't. They can certainly handle philly and will gladly throw down, if they have to!

Re: NHL will end lockout

I know it has to do with revenues and market shares, but; they really should let the "home" networks do their own coverage all the way to, and including, the Stanley Cup Finals.

Nothing against Pierre, Doc and well yes I have something against Eddie Olczyk (Penguins SUCK), but I would have rather heard Andy and Jack for the finals. I am not saying everyone except Doc was cheering for the Canucks, but they certainly sounded disappointed. At least Doc Emrick is a true fan of Hockey, and not just one team. At least he does a better job of hiding it, if he is a fan of one team over another.

I just like it when you tune in, and you can expect the announcers to be cheering for your team, and it isn't a big deal.

Re: NHL will end lockout

Yeah speaking of that....when the bruins were having their Stanley Cup Ring ceremony the VS network was showing it because, they were playing philly on opening night. It didn't make sense. It should've been played on NESN bruins network and not VS. Philly didn't care if won the cup. Should've kept it local.

Re: NHL will end lockout

rramsdell wrote:Good points there Moble....what about the refs. You know, they will make some awful if hockey does resume this year. It might actually be worse than the replacement refs we had this year for football. I do like the Red Wings by the way. But, die hard Bruins fan all my life. Bruins won't back down from nobody. Sometimes yes, they do go looking for the fight and sometimes they don't. They can certainly handle philly and will gladly throw down, if they have to!

It is weird for me. I was a Bruins fan growing up in Foxborough until I was nine. I continued to follow them as we moved to Cuse and then to Buffalo.

I enjoyed rubbing in to my friends in Buffalo, every time the B's kicked their A. Like I said though, in 1900, when I moved to D'Town, I could not get the B's on TV anymore.

The Wings SUCKED back then. I slowly became a fan, and not after they won (incase anyone is thinking that). My friend and I smashed the radio we listened to every game on for the season in 93/94, when they got beat in seven by the freaking Sharks. Then we smashed the TV we watched the entire season on, when the Wings lost in the Finals, 4 straight to the Devils. I watched Draper get his face smashed by Turtle Lemieux, and his subsequent beating by McCarty. I was at the game where Osgood and Roy got in the fight. All good times. Of course, I got to see all the Cup wins as well. Robbed, absolutely robbed in 08/09. Crosby is a **bleep**! Refs could not have been more obvious in that Finals. Check out the footage where the Penguins had six men on the ice, in the attacking zone, in a none penalty situation, for about two full minutes. Ridiculous.

I digress. As a result, I guess I love the Wings just a little more than the B's now. That said though, if the B's and the Wings got to the Finals together, I would definitely cheer for the B's. After all, they have some catching up to do.

Re: NHL will end lockout

Man I wish they had HD back then. This was the game. I was on that side of the ice, just right of Center Ice (facing Ice), between half and three quarters of the way up. I could probably find myself in the wide shot from behind Roy, if it wasn't so grainy.

I took my girlfriend at the time, mistake. She kept wondering why it was so cold. Seriously, I can't even make that up.